🌍 [Reincarnated World ]
The wind carried ash.
Charred homes. Broken fences. Fields scorched to blackened stumps.
Once a peaceful village at the edge of the kingdom — now reduced to rubble and silence.
The village where the Demon King had lived as a child in this world…
Was gone.
No sign of his mother.
His father.
No trace of Aira.
Only the remnants of fire and claw.
🐲 The Beast Plague
Over a dozen S-rank monsters now roamed the region freely.
They came not in single hunts, but in packs — organized, relentless, as if driven by some dark pull.
Villages fell within hours.
Fortresses within days.
Even cities were beginning to crack.
And from the capital, desperate horns echoed across the skies as King Varein of Elouria — the ruling monarch of this realm — stood atop his citadel, cloak whipping in the wind.
Behind him, exhausted generals waited.
Before him… a storm of death gathering.
"How many casualties?" he asked, voice hoarse.
"Too many."
"How long until they reach us?"
"A week… maybe less."
"And the family from the outskirt village?"
"Vanished."
"Presumed dead?"
"We… don't know."
The king's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"Then we hold the line."
"Until a miracle returns."
🛑 [Verdantia – Present Day]
Silence had fallen in the war chamber beneath the palace ruins.
The Demon King stood alone at the far edge, facing the wall.
Queen Alira stood a few paces behind.
And the Ashura Princess sat against the stone steps, arms around her knees, watching them both.
💔 The Quiet That Followed the Shatter
The Demon King hadn't spoken since learning the truth.
Twenty years.
No path shorter.
His breath had slowed. His hands never unclenched.
Queen Alira stepped forward, slowly.
"You don't have to carry this alone," she said gently.
He didn't respond.
Just stared ahead.
"You're still alive."
"That means they might be too."
"Don't bury them before you know."
His voice was hollow.
"If they're not…"
"Then I left them to die."
🧠 The Ashura Princess Observes
She leaned her head against the wall, studying them both.
"You know…" she muttered, "for a demon king, you break very quietly."
Neither replied.
She tilted her head.
"If I told you there was one more way…"
That got their attention.
Both turned.
"What way?" Alira asked sharply.
The Princess grinned slightly.
"Not a solution. A gamble."
"But maybe… just maybe…"
"You don't need 500."